"Haven't decided yet. JD and I were joking about Mighty and Morphin
but then I'd have to get two more pets too." He smirked and walked
off. He went to his office. "I need to name the two dogs."

"Yes, that might help them know when you want to fuss over them," his
secretary said.

He looked at her. "What?"

"There's been some...rumors starting about your guard team, sir."

Xander snorted. "I heard them. It's total bullshit."

"Fine, if you're sure."

Xander stared at her. "Do you really think Chris would put up
with that?"

"No," she admitted.

"Or that both the Secret Service and the ATF director would suggest
that team if that were true?"

"Probably not."

"Then quit listening to the stupid gossip. Tell me about
anything bad that's being said but some of it's truly the stupidest thing
ever. Things like I'm sleeping with an alien just ignore."

"I've heard that one," she admitted.

He gave her a look. "Have you seen me dating?"

"Well, you tend to take Standish shopping."

"He tends to take *me* shopping," he corrected. "He said I dressed
like a slob."

"Kind of, sir."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm comfy, that's all I care about.
When am I due at the Senate again?"

"You get to go scare them again tomorrow."

"Yay," he said flatly. He went into his office to get to the downright
nasty part of his job. Fortunately halfway through a demon showed
up to attack the White House. He ran out to handle it. Buck
was behind him somewhere but Xander had what he needed. It was even
a harmful demon. A huge one. Xander dove in and fought the
demon. It took nearly a half hour but the demon did eventually die.
Xander panted, looking at the one who had gotten the demon from behind.
"Hi, Rona."

"Xander. Were you bored?"

"Kinda," he admitted but he grinned. "Not my fault."

"I know. They just like you." She walked around the corpse.
"Nicely fought."

"Thank you." He kissed her on the cheek. "I'm sweaty."

"I noticed. C'mon, you can change I'm sure." She walked
him past the staring people. "I see the Secret Service are still
horrified by demons," she quipped.

"The one with the mustache and the blond are both really good ATF agents."

"Interesting."

"They're not freaked out usually."

"Boy!" Chris yelled. He followed them. "You need more work,"
he said bluntly.

"I've been working my way back up to it," Xander reminded him.

"Your moves were jerky and you nearly got clawed in the stomach."

"I know. That happens. Rona can help. Oh, this is
Rona. She's my current slayer guard."

Chris nodded. "Ma'am." He pointed. "Go shower and
get checked over by Nathan."

"If he fusses I'm going to let Rona fuss back."

"Fine." They finished their trek to John's bathroom.
"I'm bumming," Xander yelled as he walked past the oval office.

"Please do and then come give me a report."

Rona peeled off to go talk to him. "Sir."

He stared at her. "Slayer guard?"

"Yes, sir, I'm Rona."

John smiled. "Nice to meet you, Rona. What was it?"

"Dangerous. Apparently it hated you, sir."

"Hmm. Any idea why?"

"I'll track it back if it's a local one." He nodded at that.
"Xander's showering."

"I agree he probably needs one." He stared at her. "Thank
you for helping him."

"Sir, I want her to spar with you later so I can see what she's capable
of," Chris ordered. "Plus maybe she'll give you a bit of a challenge."

"I guess I can do that," he promised with a smile. She grinned
back. "Go fuss over him."

"No, I got sent because I don't fuss. Xander hates fussing.
He tries to run from it." She walked off. "Where is the check-in
officer? Kamria said I'd have to find them."

Chris walked her down there. "Guys, this is Rona, the newest slayer
guard."

"Welcome," the check-in/comm officer said, shaking her hand. "Watch
out for his new dogs."

"They're good dogs," Chris assured him.

"They drool. All St. Bernard's drool."

"Point," Chris agreed. "He's in John's apartment."

"That's fine," he agreed. "The body?"

"We can dissolve it," Rona assured him, going to grab something from
Xander's office and take it out there to pour on the body. It dissolved
and fizzled. Finally it was a gooey spot. "Hose it down.
It's sewer system safe."

She patted him on the arm. "Like Xander, I'm a realistic, nice,
normal person until I have to do something." He nodded so she walked
off. She met up with Xander inside. He and the other guards
said a silent prayer and got a hose.

Xander walked into John's office tucking in his new shirt. "It
hated you for supporting the oppressive regime in Korea who is presently
destroying their people."

"Why are they doing that?" John asked.

"No idea. I can check."

"Please do." He looked him over. "Injured?"

"Few light claw marks. Nothing too huge or that needed more than
a bandaid." He smiled. "I seriously need to step up my retraining."
He looked at Rona then at him. "Want her to go with me or her to
go search out to see if there's more?"

"Go search out if there's more, Rona." She nodded. "Xander,
talk to that ambassador today."

"Gladly." He went back to his office. He gave Rona his demon
bars list, getting a nod back. Xander called the Korean embassy then
traveled. "JD, going to Korea."

"North or South?" he called, jogging to catch up.

"South." JD nodded, grabbing Xander's car from the lot and pulling
it around. Xander got into the back. Rona slid in too.
"Sure. We're going by the bar to drop her for a bit."

"Sure, Xander." He grinned at her and drove off. Rona got
out of the car once they got to the bar. The bouncers were already
looking horrified when they saw the car. Seeing her made one swear
and the other change colors. JD drove them to the embassy, letting
Xander get out first. He parked and followed him inside.

Xander stared at the receptionist. "Don't try it," he ordered.
"Where is he?"

"He is on the phone with our home people, sir," she said.

Xander nodded. "Good, then they can explain the genocidal problem
they're having. Announce me." She scurried off to do that.
She came back and walked them back there. The ambassador hung up
when they walked in. "The demon that attacked the White House said
that your people are having some sort of genocidal issue with their species?"

"They are harmful to our people."

Xander stared at him. "Considering they eat trees?" The
man groaned. "Let me guess, you guys wanted their trees for prime
land so you tried to remove them. They fought back?" He slumped
but nodded. "Well, figure it the fuck out. I've already taken
out one I shouldn't have had to when he attacked the White House."

"We would like a slayer."

"No slayer's going to take out a harmless species. That's against
the rules." He flinched. "We deal with problem demons.
Vampires. Those sort. Not the problem you made for yourself."
He shifted his weight, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm going
to be more blunt. Leave 'em alone and they won't have problems with
your people. Or find them a better place with their sort of trees."

"Those trees are holy to us," he said.

"That's wonderful, but their species was here before your country had
people painting on walls." The man winced. "They were there
first. Do you really want the problems we had with the Native Americans?
Because I would've stopped that too."

"No, I would not like that."

"Tell your higher ups?"

"I will and that they are not going to get a slayer."

Xander nodded. "The one in your region probably already told you
that."

"We have not seen her recently."

Xander smirked, moving closer. "Is that because someone tried
to arrest her to control her?" He blanched, looking at him.
"Yeah, I'm well aware the slayers had to rescue their sister slayer.
I'm well aware of why. I've been informed of all the times.
So has Buffy, so Jack knows too." He stared at him. "We have
an apocalypse battle in five months. I don't care if you people make
your own problems."

"They're barbaric!" he said firmly.

"No, they're actually very technological. Their tree houses are
nicer than some of your grass huts. Nicer than some of the ones I
stayed in while I was in Africa too."

"Some of them have been captured," he sneered.

"I know that. I went to help rescue them both. I left the
other rescues alone. Down there, they know not to fuck with the slayers.
Because the slayers will leave your country alone." The ambassador
backed down at that. "John wants an answer on what the fuck you did
and what you're going to do to stop it. He wants it by tonight."
He turned and walked off. JD followed.

"Xander, he might retaliate politically," JD said once they were in
the car.

"They're going to be begging to have a slayer back soon since by the
count this morning they have over a thousand vampires gathering in their
country." JD gave him a horrified look. Xander nodded.
"The girls aren't going to risk themselves for something this stupid.
The same as they don't go in the Middle East. Unfortunately, Korea
doesn't have a troop set up to deal with that issue for them like the Middle
East set up."

"I get that. They really did?"

"Yeah. When they realized what was going on, and we told them
the girls weren't going to come back because they weren't all that welcome,
they set up their own troops to deal with it. Now and then they bring
someone over to spar with the girls to see if they're good enough."
He smiled. "There's only been one that beat a slayer and it wasn't
one of the alpha slayers. They face a lesser one and then an alpha
slayer."

"Wow." He turned streets. "Should we pick her up?"

"No, she'll show up later. If she needs help, she'll text or I'll
know." He grinned. "No good demon would ever touch a slayer.
The ones that aren't all that peaceful won't touch a slayer because they
know it'll bring all the others down on their heads, or me. The ones
who're planning really bad shit like an apocalypse try to hide because
they know they can't take out a slayer without their plans ending in a
messy, bloody manner." He shifted. "I've got to introduce Rona
to the dogs tonight."

"Is she staying with you?"

"That's up to her, JD. Rona's not one of the ones who'll try to
mother-hen me or treat me like I'm weak. Though I need work with
the sword stuff."

"You can get a personal trainer."

"I need one but I haven't been able to find one." He shifted again.
"Do I have any tylenol in my desk?"

"Probably. Wrenched you back?"

"My side hurts." JD shot him a worried look. "It's fine."

"That doctor told us to watch out for that."

"It's not in that area. It's higher up. I wrenched a rib."
JD nodded, but he'd still report it to Nathan. They pulled in, Xander
going to get the tylenol on his way to report.

John looked up. "I've already been told you threatened them."

"They had to rescue a confiscated slayer last week."

"Ah."

"They're peaceful, tree living demons who they wanted to move to have
their trees."

"So they're doing what we did to the Native Americans?"

"Yup."

"Charming," John said snidely. "And?"

"I pointed out I knew that. That they weren't going to be getting
another slayer. That the slayers weren't going to handle peaceful
species. I told them you wanted a report by tonight on how they're
going to fix this shit."

"I do," John agreed. "He was huffy and said you were rude."

"Well, I wasn't nice," Xander admitted with a smirk. "But I was
blunt."

"So you were more mean than rude?" John asked dryly.

"Yup." He grinned. "Let me take something for the pulled
muscle in my chest. Then I'll get back to the pointless shit."
He walked off to take the tylenol from Nathan's hand. "It's up under
my armpit." He took it and Chris's cup of coffee to swallow it.
"Thanks." He got him more from the good pot with a grin as he handed
it back. "I'm fine, Nathan."

"Bull. You had to take pills."

"I pulled a muscle near my armpit." Nathan pointed so he took
him to his office to check him over for injuries. Nathan huffed but
left him alone to do the pointless paperwork.

***

"Oh my God, Xander!" Rona yelled, bringing him jogging outside.

"Kids," Xander called. They backed down, barking at him.
"Good guard dogs." He petted them. "This is Rona. She's
a friend. She's good to pet you. She has nails." Rona
let the dogs sniff her and petted them. He grinned. "I adopted."

"That's cool." She sat down to eat with him. "This is nicer
than I expected."

"It's public property."

"Ah." She nodded and dug in. "Good cook." He nodded,
eating his own. The dogs snuck back to nuzzle her knees. She
looked then petted with a smile. "No begging." They settled
down under the table. Xander grinned. "They're good."

"They're very protective." He ate another bite. By the time
they finished, Xander had saved out two pieces of meat. They got
dropped as he took the plates to the dishwasher. He groaned when
it refused to start. "I have got to have that fixed." He climbed
under the sink to check the connections. He finally came out and
restarted it. This time it turned on.

"Call the VP handyman?" she teased.

"That's called the Chief of Staff." He went to call him.
"It's Xander. The dishwasher is breaking down again. No, the
wires are corroded and I had to get under there to make sure it worked
again. Please." He hung up. "The last time they did any
updating in here was the eighties." She cackled. "C'mon, guys."
He put down food for the dogs and went out to the living room. Rona
followed to catch up with him and see how he was doing. He had looked
rough during the battle earlier.

***

Xander walked into the dojo Chris had found for him. "Master Tenaka."

He stared at him. "I heard I was going to have a new student who
had security needs."

"I've managed to fall slightly out of condition due to when I landed
in the hospital and some liver damage."

"I remember."

"I'm still struggling with my sword and battle axe work, even with nightly
katas. I'm back to pulling muscles. I have to be better
for the girls' safety."

He nodded. "All true."

"Can you help me?"

"I would have to test you."

Xander took off his jacket. "I'm good with that. Real swords
or something else?"

"You use both axes and swords?"

"Yes."

"Katana?"

"Usually a longer, two handed sword. I'm not against switching
styles. Though my axe is my baby." He pulled out a picture
with a grin.

The master smiled back, handing it over after looking at it. "You
are slightly insane."

"Yeah but I'm fun usually." He grinned. The master snorted,
getting up to grab two practice swords. He let Xander pick his.
They went into the gym area and he lunged, catching the boy off guard but
he fought back well enough. A few winces and one blatant side hold but
otherwise he was doing about as well as usual lately.

"You are sore there?"

"I pulled a muscle the other day. I clearly need to be better.
I could handle more than that one attacking demon before."

"We all age if we're lucky."

"Yeah but I can't let age slow me down. The girls need help."

"Agreed. That is a hard duty to have." Xander nodded.
"Why did you opt into it?"

"They took a friend."

"A slayer?"

"No, a vampire." The master nodded at that. He attacked
again and Xander was easier this time. They kept going until the
boy gave up.

The master stared at him. "You are good."

Xander looked at him, shaking his head. "Not good enough."

"No, not good enough," he agreed. "There is little I can teach
you. Beyond not overreaching." He stared at the boy.
"You will train daily?"

"Yes. I do at home." The master smirked. "I can forgo
some of that for in here."

"Do the katas you know." Xander nodded, starting on the first.
He watched and corrected his form. It was bad and Xander knew that
but he was clearly self-trained. "Did you learn from someone?"

"On the job training."

He snorted. "Good enough when young and robust but age means more
careful movement before you get too injured." Xander nodded, finishing
that one and going on. "From Highlander," he said dryly. "Suited
to a katana." Xander shrugged. "How did you pick your sword
and axe?"

"Buffy thought my axe was too large for her. The sword is usually
whichever one I grab. I traveled with a few but they weren't special
as more than a weapon. Which I love weapons, but I didn't name them
or anything."

"Good." He watched him move into the other one. "What is
wrong with your stomach?"

"I had some liver damage I had to heal in the hospital. That's
why I limped for weeks." He sighed. "Which is how I got out
of shape. It hurt like hell getting back to it."

"Would a blow there harm you more?"

"No. Hurt like hell but no. I'm working on that too with
some heat and toughening treatments."

"Good idea," he agreed. "Stop, that is painful to watch."
Xander stopped, panting. He stared at him. "You need work."

"I'm a good student," Xander said, looking at him. "I have to
learn better."

He nodded. "With your duty, yes you do. I will come to the
White House every day?"

"Or my place, whichever is easier for you."

"The White House. Your boss could use the work and so could some
of your guards." He stared at him. "I am not cheap."

"I know."

"Good." He held out a hand and the boy shook it. "Ten?"

"I can push back my time to arrive at the Senate."

"That is important."

"Frankly, I'd rather train than go in early to be fussed at by people
who will never understand."

The older man smirked. "I will come at four." Xander nodded.
"Do not be late."

"That's still like ten swords and about six mini-axes, plus my usual
is in Cleveland."

He nodded. "Good. Bring them." Xander nodded, bowing
and leaving him alone. He smirked at his back. "Yes, the boy
could use the training. A lot." He sighed and went to arrange
his schedule. The boy did need the work and it was good for the world.
He didn't want to die in a fiery apocalypse anytime soon.

***

John walked into the gym, nodding at the sword master. "I can
take the same lessons?"

"Since you jump in so well, it would be good for your conditioning."
He looked him over. "You know what sort of work?"

"Teyla introduced me to bantos rods and their style of fighting.
That's two sticks fighting."

"Interesting. I would like to see what she can do sometime."
He pointed. "Do you know swords?"

"No, all the apocalypses so far I've used either an energy weapon or
a P-90."

"Then you should learn. It will help you both." John smiled
and nodded. Xander was stretching out. "Do the same," he said
with a point at Xander. Rona and another young woman walked in.
"Slayers?"

"I am," Rona agreed with a smile. "This is John's teammate, Teyla."

John looked over. "Hey, Teyla. How's the sprout?"

"The baby is fine, John." She smiled. "I came to see what
he is learning now to see if he can still spar with me."

"Of course," the master agreed. "It can only help him."
He looked at the other one. "How trained are you?"

"Some. All slayers get knowledge and fighting skills. I
don't favor swords. I favor long knives."

"That's fine. That is something they can learn as well."
He pointed. "Get ready." They moved to warm up for him.
He went over Xander's weapons collection. It was many too many blades.
A few different lengths, weights, and widths. All the smaller axes
were built along the same lines. "What is your bigger axe like, Xander?"

"Twice the size of the mini ones. A little over twice as heavy."

"Hmm." He handed the boy one. "Do a kata?"

"These aren't really built for it but okay." He started off on
the axe katas he had developed.

"I suppose that is true," the master said. He stopped Xander.
"We will spar with rods." He got him a set and attacked. Xander
smiled and fought back. John and Teyla worked against each other.
Rona watched and nodded. He attacked her and she caught Xander's
rod to protect herself. She fought better than Xander, but that was
to be expected. He interrupted Teyla to attack her. Her unique
style showed in John's training and she was decent. Enough to be
trained. He nodded, backing off. "You are trainable."
He pointed. "For now, the girls work together and the boys together."
He watched them spar and nodded, adjusting Xander's form faults.
The boy clearly needed trained earlier on. John was... odd but good
enough. He could fix that with time and work.

***

Five and a half months later, the apocalypse finally started.
Xander and John got beamed there with Rona. Faith looked then tossed
Xander his axe, getting a grin. They waded into the open portal's
problem, taking it out. It was a seven hour fight. By the end,
everyone was injured, bitten, scratched, and tired. Xander dispatched
his last one and looked around. He threw his dagger at one of the
girls, making her catch it and use it. The soldiers that were backing
them up cheered when the last demon died. Xander looked around.
"Damn we made a mess, people."

"We can beam the remains into the sun," John announced. "That
way the people who farm around here don't have to worry." The slayers
all nodded, looking exhausted. "Good work, people. Go rest
and recover." Doctors Lam and Keller pushed their way through to
treat the ones still standing. They had manned the evacuation tents
for hours. The girls smiled weakly at the fussing. John nodded
at his people. "Deadalus, report." He listened to the report.
"Give us thirty to clear our people and then beam the demons into the sun
to clean up the mess."

He hung up and they got all of their bodies out of the way. He
called for a wait for a few more to get carried out. Then the beam-out
happened. John flopped down, watching them fuss over the girls.
They were sucking it up. The soldiers were fussing back. The
other SG doctors were tired of it but oh well. They saved the really
fussy ones for last since they had been walking.

McKay was there yelling at John for endangering himself, and Jack too.
Buffy finally walked her husband off to fuss over him herself. Xander
had turned to deal with some of his own injuries. "What are you doing?"
McKay demanded when he caught Xander.

"Stitches?" Xander said, looking confused. "Does it look odd?"
One of the nurses glared. "I've done plenty of my own and I know
not to run from Dr. Lam," he told her. "Just taking some of the work
off you guys." He went back to the cuts on his legs. His watch
beeped and he sighed. "Well, I guess we're all missing sparring today."

John nodded. "Probably." He called from McKay's phone.
"Chuck, we're fine. I know he probably is. We're all here in
Illinois with the apocalypse cleanup. We'll be there in about an
hour if he wanted to wait. Tell him we're sorry we couldn't warn
him." He heard the response that they needed to be tested today.
"Chuck, tell him we're exhausted. It was a seven hour battle.
We're all still waiting for stitches and things. Xander's doing his
own stitches but we're last in line. Hour probably. Thanks."
He hung up and sighed, looking at Xander. "He wants us to spar today
anyway."

Xander nodded. "That's how you build stamina," he sighed.
"I guess we'll do poorly today." He finished up and clipped the thread,
moving onto the next one.

"You should change between wounds, sir," one of the nurses said.

"That wastes threads and it's still on the same body so I don't have
to change needles." He got back to work. "I'm not used to having
enough to waste, nurse."

She huffed and came over since he was next anyway. "At least they're
good stitches." She looked at him. "Did you steal local?"

"Nope. I'm kinda used to this. I used to do Buffy's and
Willow's too." He kept moving. "I can't do the ones on my back,"
he said quietly.

"I can work on those." She changed gloves and helped him out of
the remains of his t-shirt so she could look over his back. She winced.
"This is going to take a while."

He looked back at her. "No it won't. I've had some that
took hours." She nodded and got some local. "Don't. I'll
probably have a reaction."

"Are you allergic?"

"No but I'm unused to it."

"Oh." She put it aside and started on the top injury.
"I see other scars. Who stitched those?"

"Depends on which one," he admitted. "Willow did a few.
Giles did once. A few village healers a few times." He shrugged
and winced. "Ow." He got back to the ones on his legs.
"Little biters."

She snorted. "Yes they were." Doctor Lam came over.
"I'm working on his cuts."

"I can see that." She looked at him. "Okay, let's do a scanning,
Xander." He checked the mark but it had a cut already. He took
off the other necklaces and protections he wore. She scanned him.
"You've been damaging your liver by drinking?"

"No, I got him on it the other day by accident," John admitted.
She glared at him. "Sparring with the sword master we all work with.
I meant to hit him on the stomach but he ducked to the side. It was
swollen yesterday."

"It's still swollen." She got back to it. "Jeez, kid."
Xander shrugged again. "Fine." She got the healing wand to
use on his liver again. It was healing better this time. It
even healed some of the old damage. She smiled at him. "Better."

"Still suck at it," he muttered.

She patted him on the cheek. "You did better than Ronon today."
He shrugged then winced and hissed. "Local?"

"No."

"He said he's not used to it so he's not sure if he'll have a reaction,"
the nurse said.

"Ah." She nodded, looking at him. "I'll tell Nathan not
to fuss."

"Thanks."

"Welcome. Have fun taking a sponge bath. I have no idea
how you'll do your hair with the one in your scalp."

He shrugged. "I'm hiding tomorrow. People will overreact."
He finished up the one on his leg and switched to the other one.
"Hey, Rodney?" He looked over from his bitching at John. "Will
they have problems if they want to plant later on in that field?"

"Probably," he said sarcastically. "Blood isn't usually beneficial
to plants."

"For how long and can we counter it?"

"I'll figure that out or assign a botanist," he said. He looked
at John again. "He thinks more than you."

"I'm still wallowing in the pain," John said, glaring at him.
"Go figure that out, Rodney." He huffed off but John felt liked since
Rodney had bitched at him for so long. It was good to have friends
who would yell at you for getting hurt.

***

Xander walked into the press corps room the next day, limping heavily.
"I'm told we have questions. What?"

"Sir, is the president injured?"

"He got about a hundred stitches, took a heating pad to bed last night
for the bruises, but otherwise he's fine. He's just cranky today."

"Sir, did you get injured?"

"Hell yes," he said dryly, looking at them. "Which is why I'm
cranky today." They all nodded. "We had questions, make it
fast. Please. I'm due some advil soon."

"Sir, what was that?" one shouted.

"That was a plane opening up and spilling some extras they didn't want
at home. They did it to basically send the worst elements of their
society at the slayers from what we were told. Apparently that's
their version of the electric chair." They shuddered. "By the
Council's records, they only do it about once a century, when they get
too many built up. They always put rumors in the underground so the
girls can be where they're needed."

"So in a century it'll happen again?"

"Sometime around there. There's no firm date. They
just emptied out their prisons." He pointed at another. "You?"

"Sir, are there other realms that do this? Was that what happened
in LA?"

"No, LA was done by someone who wanted them to take over humanity and
eat them so they could take over the world. That was a group's bright
idea to rule the universe. They lost." He shrugged and winced.
"Anyway, not the same. As for other realms? There's another
that historically has done that after a civil revolt. That was over
five hundred years ago and a single slayer took them out, unfortunately
losing her life at the time." They nodded. "The girls are mostly
all right. Some got injured pretty badly. A few got severely
injured."

"The former first lady?"

"Buffy's injured. We're all injured, but she's got about fifty
stitches. Jack talked her into using energy weapons, which was what
turned the tide for us since they were bulletproof." He pointed at
another.

"Did any of the girls lose their lives?"

"Three are listed in critical condition from head injuries. Two
are on respirators beyond them. We're waiting to see if their healing
gifts step up faster." He grimaced. "Any that do pass, we'll
hold a memorial in Cleveland for. The same as we have for the others
that have died doing the duty."

"There are less girls now than in LA's invasion," another noted.

Xander nodded. "Before the calling that got so many activated
it was one was called, fought, then died. Now we're seeing
that some are dying and not calling another slayer. It's reduced
the slayer lines to about a third of what it was in LA. The potentials
being born are about at the same level as before however. So we're
not sure what's going to happen."

"How did so many get called if it was an individual duty?" one asked.

He stared at her. Then sighed. "Back when there was a Sunnydale,
something got released. She called herself the First Evil."
That got a mass shudder. "Her minions were the ones that blew up
the original Council and forced all the then potentials who could escape
to come to Sunnydale to fight her. Our team in Sunnydale figured
out it took seven slayers to lock her back down. We couldn't be sure
which ones would die in the battle and therefore call another one who might
still be in another country.

"We knew we had some that had managed to escape and not make it to Sunnydale.
So our head witch activated the whole line so we'd have seven. The
echos of her problems meant that we needed them," he said honestly.
He leaned on the podium to hold himself up. Damn he ached.
"To be honest, if we hadn't had that many girls, we would've lost LA and
probably everything then. At that time there were only two."

"How two?" she asked.

"I knew CPR and brought Buffy back to life after a vampire master drowned
her." They took notes. "That called Kendra, who later died
and called Faith."

"So we went from one, to two...."

"Before the apocalypse that was our graduation from high school."

"That's...."

"Yeah," Xander agreed with a smirk. "We needed the two at the
time actually."

"Was Faith there?"

"No. She was in a hospital bed. Longer than average story
there, ask her." They nodded at that. "Anything else?"

"Sir, how many more apocalypses do we expect?"

"We have some sort or another every spring. Some sort of power
move, someone wanting to take over a small area to rule it. Every
three years or so we have a major one that takes all the slayers.
The usual ones only take a few." They nodded. "We've had minor
ones in London, LA, Sunnydale, Paris last year at the same time as the
one in Germany and Lithuania. I helped stop a few when I was in Africa.
Brazil had one year before last that was a gang power struggle."
They all groaned. "We work in the shadows so most of you don't have
to know. That's our job. Which is why Buffy fussed at
Jack about medals." He pointed at another one. "Last one.
I'm exhausted and need advil. If you guys have more questions, ask
Buffy."

"Sir, we were told there were rumors of a present from a Saudi family?"

Xander stared at her. "Huh?"

"A certain white horse, sir?"

"Well, a white horse did show up at one of my guard's farms. With
my name on it. We cannot be sure who put it there. I met the
potential giver of the horse a few years back when I was traveling and
taking down a hellgate while he was on vacation." They all nodded.
"She's a beautiful mare, the diplomats and the State Department couldn't
find who left it for me. Honestly, it could've been anyone who wanted
my attention. So they said there's no harm."

"Sir, there's been a call to investigate that incident by a special
prosecutor."

Xander snorted. "They want to waste money to look at something
the State Department already investigated? Sounds like some of the
conservative assholes who don't like me for being Council." He shrugged
and winced again. "I don't care what they want to be honest.
They don't like me for multiple reasons. They're doing anything they
can to discredit me. Personally I don't really care about their opinions.
I'm not John so I don't have to." He looked at the doorway to make
sure John wasn't there then at them.

"We all know I'm blunt and apparently some them can't take people who
think, are blunt, and tell them what they think about their stupid ideas.
I'm not going to hide what I think from anyone. Especially not when
they're trying to get pushy and in my face about their ideas. I'm
all for helping people but what they wanted was dumb and pushing us backwards.
And yes, I'm being really blunt today because I'm in pain and I could care
less. Right now, I'll bite." They all smiled. "I don't
want to push people back into the darker ages. Let's move ahead,
not rant about the loss of the innocence and all that. Even the fifties
weren't like what they think."

John walked in. "I agree, it was a stupid idea." He handed
Xander some pills. "Pain killers. Nathan said you're past your
time."

Xander nodded. "By about twenty minutes." He took them with
the bottle of water John handed him. He sighed in relief a few minutes
later. "That wasn't advil."

"No, Doctor Lam sent that over for you," he said dryly. He looked
at the press people. "Yes, that call to investigate the horse is
stupid. The State Department said they couldn't find out who left
it. They thought it might've been a wannabe lover of his."
A few laughed. "Especially since he dated someone right after it
showed up. Personally I think this is election year fussing and whining.
I put up with it when I was in his job. Xander's more blunt and plain
spoken than I am. He doesn't play politics at all."

"I know I am." He patted him on an undamaged part of his arm.
"Guys, I just gave him real painkillers so I'm putting him on his couch.
Let's leave him alone. He's got about three hundred stitches."
They all shuddered. He walked him off, taking him to his office.
He put Xander on his couch. "JD, make sure he doesn't wander.
The drugs made him goofy and happier." He walked off to his own office.

"Sure," JD called after him. He sat down against the door and
opened his fun reading book. Xander would have to walk over him to
get out of his office and embarrass himself.

The Press Secretary stepped in with a smile. "Sorry, the day after
a battle is never a good one."

"Is Mr. Harris going to actively campaign against the people causing
him problems for being a normal guy?" one asked.

He shrugged. "Xander doesn't really understand what politics is
for. He's very anti doing things for alliances and things.
He understands the diplomatic versions but not the annoying one they're
using in the Senate to make alliances and get votes for their pet projects.
He goes on the 'if it's a good idea, we'll like it' theory."

"That goes very well with the normal guy he is," one reporter said.
"He's the most plain spoken politician ever." The press secretary
nodded. "Someone wanted to know if he liked country music."

"I think he said that's his sad, upset music. I know he's listened
to everything from pop to country to native music in his office.
It depends on how he feels and what he's doing."

"Will he be going to the opera when it restarts?"

"I don't think he's ever been exposed to opera. I know the Sheppard
family doesn't favor it. Maybe he'll go to see what it's like.
I'm not sure. He has taken the time to hit every single museum in
the city in his time here." He pointed. "What's on your mind?"

"Is Mr. Harris going to be all right? The last major apocalypse
he spent a lot of time in the hospital. There were stories about
possible liver damage from that energy bolt."

"I'm told that was fully healed. He's back to the same condition
he was when he left Sunnydale."

"Yet, he spends money on a personal trainer?"

"He and the President both attend practices with a self-defense instructor
that teaches sword work." They all gave him odd looks. "Slayers
use swords and stakes before they use guns."

"Oh, I see," she said. "Are they any good?"

"They're amazing. Xander lost some conditioning after that injury
to his side. He's regained most of it. As proven yesterday
when he lasted longer than some of the slayers. He said he's more
stubborn." He pointed at another. "Last one."

"What if they do call a special prosecutor?"

"Then I'm sure they'll put up with it," he admitted. "It's not
like he's done anything wrong. We watch over his shoulder to make
sure he can't make a misstep like that since he's not fully used to all
the regulations."

"That car he's driving, his or the government's?"

"His. He bought it from his paycheck for his personal use."

"How are the dogs?" one called before he could move.

He smiled. "They're fine. Probably at home waiting on him
to come play. They like to play fetch from what I've seen."
He left the room. He had to tell John what was being said about that
special prosecutor thing. Some of the fundamentalists on each side
needed a good, long beating.

***

Xander looked at the man who was admitted to his office later that afternoon.
"What?"

"You bite?"

Xander stared at him. "Yes, I do. When necessary."
He leaned back in his chair. "Why are you invading my office?"

"Sir, the car you use...."

"I bought it from my personal account. It's mine."

"Oh, I see." He nodded. "I was wondering why it didn't have
government plates."

"Because it doesn't."

"You were putting in a request to redo some of the Vice President's
house?"

"The kitchen's forty years old. The appliances are about thirty
years old and breaking down. I've had to fix the dishwasher twice
in the last week." The man nodded at that. "The fridge could
use updated as well. Energy efficient ones would be better."

"That's going to be expensive."

"If I buy them I'm taking them with me," he said dryly.

"Good point. Um, have you had someone out?"

"Yes. At my own expense and I did put in to have that reimbursed."

"I understand fully. What remodeling plans did you have?"

"Just updating the appliances, adding a work island with an extra sink.
Changing a few things so it had separate ovens and cooktop so the cook
can make full meals and not swear at the oven again."

"That would be good, yes. You could do it and then ask for reimbursement."

"I thought about that but since they're so damn slow and I'm using my
paycheck to afford things like my health care and other matters....."

"Oh, that's reasonable I suppose." He shifted his weight.
"The call for a special prosecutor is stronger today." Xander shrugged.
"You don't care?"

"What are they going to say? I've done nothing wrong. You
guys stare over my shoulder like I'm a toddler most of the time to make
sure of it." He winced but nodded. "If they want to waste the
people's money then they can pay the price and not be elected for it.
Because, honestly, I don't care. Most of them aren't ones I'd save
in case of an emergency."

"Fine, sir. Thank you." He left. Clearly that
one was losing his hope in humanity. He'd have to stop that problem.

Xander called someone. "It's me. Yes, Xander." He
listened. "No, I'm fed up. I'm going to take this weekend off.
Thanks, man. Yeah, that problem. I've given up. They're
all spoiled little bitches who need the hell beaten out of them for being
dumbasses. I don't care if someone is tapping this line, dude.
They all know I think it. I've said it a few times over stupid things.
Anyway, I'll be by you this weekend so fair warning." He hung up
and stood up with a wince. "JD, I'm going off this weekend."

"You have an appointment early Saturday to speak to the local schools'
gay and lesbian associations during their convention," his assistant said.

"That's fine, I can do that and travel from there. I'm going to
be out of touch the rest of the weekend."

"Where are you going, sir, so we can make reservations?"

"Nope. I've already got a place to hit." He walked out,
going to tell John. "I'm getting out of this hellhole of stupidity
before I slay people. After my speech Saturday I'm heading for the
weekend. I'll be back mid-afternoon Monday." He walked off
to go to the gym. It was almost time for sparring.

John grimaced. "He's clearly not happy today."

"I don't doubt it with the way they're trying to ride him again," his
chief of staff said. "I'll have a quiet word with someone that he's
reached his point of opening fire in the Senate." He went to call
a few friends on Capitol Hill to warn them.

John went to talk to the boy. It was nearly time for sparring
so he'd be in the gym. "Hey," he said as he walked in.

"No." He went back to stretching. "I used to believe in
the power of humanity before I went to Africa. Then I realized lions
are nicer to their prey than we are to ourselves. For all I care,
some days, they can eat each other and I'll guard what's mine to protect."
He looked at his boss. "They've proven they want to be big dogs and
I doubt they could handle the reality of the real world."

"You clearly needed a vacation a while ago," John said calmly, coming
closer. "Why didn't you take one?"

"I need the time practicing."

"Good point but you could've taken a weekend at Camp David. I
can make arrangements for that."

"No thanks. I'm going to go somewhere it'll be really hard to
find me. Before that fantasy I had the other day of a lion being
released in Congress becomes wish demon fodder."

"I understand fully," he admitted. "Though you can't really be
out of contact."

"I'll have my old phone on me. It's a sat phone." He looked
at his boss and friend. "Let the guys go do team things this weekend.
They could use it because this is driving them nuts too."

"Sure, we can do that. I have nothing planned this weekend so
I can probably head back to Atlantis for the weekend. That way both
of us get some calming down time." He moved closer, touching Xander
on the shoulder, getting a hiss. "Take care of yourself?"

"Good." Chris walked in with Rona. "We're heading off for
the weekend. He's going to hide after his speech somewhere he can't
be found. I'm going to Atlantis. You guys can have the weekend
off to just be a team."

Chris nodded. "That'll work. Which one of us are you taking,
kid?"

"None of you. I'm going to a limited threat environment and I'll
have other people there to protect me if I need to use it."

"Where?" Chris asked.

"If I tell you, then the ears on the walls will hear and spill it to
others." Chris gave him a dirty look. "They have in here bugged
and my office. They'd tell people and I might get into something
dangerous if they did. Therefore I'm not telling anyone. For
that matter, I don't have to be followed to the convention."

"Fat chance," Chris said. "They've already got protestors."

"Has Metro PD taken care of it?" Xander asked, staring at him.

"No. Not yet. So far they're being peaceful."

Xander grimaced. "No, that won't work with the vision I had last
night." Chris moaned. "I gave it to the call-in officer."

"I'll get that from him," Chris said. He left them alone.

"Rona, can you house and puppy sit?"

"Sure, Xander." She smiled. "Tell them I said hi?"

"I will." He gave her a hug. "All right, let's beat the
hell out of each other until he gets here. Maybe he'll be impressed
and we can go early tonight. Because I'm still sore."

"Me too," Rona agreed.

"Me three," John sighed but they got out the stuff to spar with so they
could get back to work. They could all be attacked at any time and
needed to be in top form.

***

Xander drove by the hotel and grimaced. The problem was already
starting. Metro PD was there in puny force. He got out and
walked over to one of them, tapping him on the arm. The man gave
him a horrified look. "I'm the one who had the vision about them
grabbing some of the kids to hurt them," he said bluntly. "I haven't
been wrong yet."

"I'll see if we can get a few more officers down here, sir. Are
you speaking tonight?"

"Tomorrow morning." He smiled. "I'm out for ice cream right
now officially." He walked off again. Yeah, that might help.
Hopefully they wouldn't be able to grab any of the kids. He couldn't
ask Rona to watch for it but he did see Buck circulating and smirked.
That may work. Hell, if he had to, he'd call a harmless scary looking
demon in to scare the bigots off. That would make them flee in terror.

***

Xander showed up the next morning wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and hiking
boots. He was carrying a bag. He tossed Ezra the keys since
he was waiting on him. "The two kids okay?"

"They're fine. Spooked but not injured. Buck said you showed
up last night."

"To explain it a bit better." He walked into the conference room,
putting the bag down on the chair behind him. "Good morning."
He smiled. The crowd cheered. "It's good we stopped that last
night. People like that are the biggest threat to freedom we have."
He launched into his speech. He also outlined how he wanted them
all to go to college, do great things, and take his place in the Senate
some day. That got more cheering. He smiled at the end and
grabbed something.

"You guys have a great weekend, hopefully safer than it has been, and
I'll do the same." He smiled and used Dawn's transport stone to his
girls. They all squealed and pounced him. "You only have me
until Monday." They got him into the kitchen to make ice cream with
them. It was nice to be home. He could actually talk to his
girls and they'd understand. They had to deal with corrupt politicians
all too often.

Ezra called in that he had left on his trip and he was bringing the
car to the farm. They had known the boy wouldn't take a cab.
One of the teenagers stopped him. "Yes?"

"How did he disappear that way?" she asked.

He smiled. "Something that the Council's witches cooked up to
move him in case of emergency. He's with some of his friends having
a weekend off I believe." She smiled and walked off. Ezra drove
out to the farm and got out, heading right for his gelding. He did
need a good, mind clearing ride. Before the boy drove him nuts.

***

Faith looked out the window that afternoon. "For some reason the
press are back," she announced. "'Drew?"

"Oh, no! You suckered me into talking to them the last time!"

"Fine." She walked out there. "You're making the girls worried
while they get ready for patrol and dates why?" she demanded.

"Did Mr. Harris come here for his weekend off?"

She snorted. "He knows he could come home but if he did, the girls
would squeal, pounce, and ask his opinion on things like their boyfriends.
Not exactly relaxing."

"Do you know where he went?"

"If I did, I wouldn't tell you guys. He wanted a weekend away
from you jackals." They groaned. "You guys are driving him
nuts and so are the fundies that think he's evil because he wasn't born
to money. So go find a real story and a life, people. Today."
They fled. Faith wasn't known for putting up with shit at the slayer
house. It tended to get them arrested. Or possibly attacked
by the hellhound that had decided it lived in the garden, again.
It liked to protect the girls. Faith went back inside.

"They're looking for Xander but they're gone," she announced.
"Situation normal." The girls all got happy again doing hair and
makeup for the night. Faith went to get a soda and some quiet time.
There were days she wanted Buffy to take this job, but she was happily
married and slightly retired. She called her. "Can you come
be a house mother at the least for a week?" She took a sip.
"Date night, yeah." She hung up. Buffy appeared and went up
to hang with the girls so Faith could catch a nap and some tv in her room
alone. Faith decided she wanted a good lay and snuck out to find
one instead.

***

Xander walked into the Senate Monday afternoon, tipping his chair to
get the person out of it before he sat down. He looked at him.
"Thank you."

"Welcome. Are you officially back?"

"Yup." The man smirked. "I heard already and I've already
given him what he wanted. He's already said there's no point."
The man slumped. "So you're kindly wasting the Senate's time, money,
and energy for stupid things that have no bearing in reality. Go
sit down." He went back to his seat. He looked at the Speaker.
"Where are we?"

"On the motion to impeach you actually."

He smirked. "For?"

"Lying."

"When?"

"What?"

"Impeachment would mean lying under oath, correct?" She nodded.
"When have I ever taken an oath?" She gaped. He gave her a
smug look. "I don't testify in anything, dear. So no, your
motion is pointless, useless, and another waste of time and money.
Beyond that you can't do it without your prosecutor buddy saying so.
Since he's already said there's no cause.... By the way, he's waiting.
Sir?" He came in. "Can you please report the preliminary findings?"

He cleared his throat. "I have no idea why I was called as a special
prosecutor. So far nothing that I have seen mentions a misuse of
public funds, lying under oath, or any other crime that can be charged
to a Vice President."

"You're trying to remodel your house on public funds," she sneered at
him.

"That's because the appliances are thirty years old," he said bluntly.
"And they quit working." She flinched. "Plus, the kitchen hasn't
been redone since the eighties. Yes, it needs some maintenance
work. I'm not paying for it out of more than my taxes because it's
not my house to upkeep. It's your house to upkeep. For that
matter I've had plans drawn up for months now that would save on energy
bills and all that other good stuff. It got approved and then the
sub committee decided to stick their noses in it and protest the expense."
He leaned forward.

"Well, hate to tell you this, but the White House's kitchen needs to
be redone too. It's at least twenty years old." She grimaced.
"That's not coming out of our funds. It's not supposed to.
The same as I still filed for legitimate reimbursement for having someone
come out to fix the dishwasher again because it nearly started a fire."
She sat down with a groan. "So get over yourself and your petty politicking
bullshit." He looked at the prosecutor. "I'm calling for a
vote. Is his job secure and is he to do more looking and wasting
more money or not?" The vote to keep him was firmly high. "Fine,
you have fun. Let me know if you need any more of my documents."

"I will, sir." He left.

Xander smirked. "Your opponents will love you for that I'm sure."
He banged the gavel. "I'll let you go spin all your disastrous decisions
to your people. Go home." They filed out. He looked at
the Speaker. "You too."

"You bought things on public money!" she shouted.

"I bought my own car with my own salary!" he said firmly, standing up
to stare down at her. "You have no idea what the hell you're talking
about."

"You're gay," she sneered.

"I'm bi, get it right, and you're just jealous because I could make
your husband scream more than you can." She gasped. He smirked.
"Yeah, I know." She stomped off. He walked out, going back
to the White House. "We had a shouting match in the senate," he announced
as he walked past John's doorway.

"I've already heard and you're grounded," John called.

"Yay." He went to his office to gather things so he could go home
to play with his dogs. He was sure all the nice senators up
for reelection, which was all of them, were going to have fits trying to
defend their actions to their voting public. He dropped something
on John's desk on the way off. "A motion to reformat some military
duties. Jack wanted to but didn't think he had the ability.
Buffy sent it to my email." He walked off again.

John looked it over, nodding at it. He called in the Joint Chiefs
to talk about it and kick around ideas. Clearly some of them were
good ones. They had a lot of problems with some of the newer things.
Then he'd have to do a speech to denounce the stupidity of calling for
a special prosecutor.

***

John stood up in front of the press two days later. "I'm here
to talk about two things today," he announced. "First, no, his comments
weren't polite, weren't anything but rude, and I do apologize for him.
Personally though, I might've lost my temper and said the same thing."
A few reporters gasped. He stared at them. "They were being
pushy for no reason other than his personal life. They need to get
their own lives in order first. After all, we do all live in a glass
house when we serve the public." He smiled. "I'm sure theirs
are not rock proof." He looked around.

"The second thing is that Former President O'Neill has been working
on a plan with a few other generals on how to restructure some of the duties
all of us in the armed forces need to have covered. We are presently
working on a plan to restructure not only the base life, but duties, who
covers what areas, and switching some bases to more forward thinking technology.
They finally brought this plan to me recently and it sounds like it will
work in theory. Therefore we have decided to roll out the changes
in a few units as a trial." He smiled. "I think it will affect
duties in a positive way but we'll see how it works for a year. Then
we'll implement it." He tapped his notes together.

"Sir, will this lead to base closings?" a reporter asked.

"No. Actually it will lead to some smaller bases being repurposed
for training instead. It will save jobs in the long run and make
our military more efficient we think."

"Will it be switching basic training out of the bases it has now?"

"Not really. A few need some major repairs so those would be temporary
changes most likely. I'm talking about specialist training for things
like telemetry and those things. We have small bases doing the work,
but the training is on a different set of bases. That didn't make
sense to us. This way people can be trained on the actual equipment
they'll be working on." They all nodded at that. "It will move
two bases that need some serious repairs to smaller bases for a while.
We'll run a skeleton crew on those bases while repairs are being made.
Camp Lejeune is one of them. The head of the Marines is deciding
where to move basic training for a while until that base's facilities are
all updated. That will be announced next month sometime."

"Will this impact any soldiers serving overseas?" one asked.

"No, though it may impact the ones going through special forces training.
It was thought that it would be better to move the camps they train at
to ones that didn't require them to switch off for certain portions of
their training. Or possibly, there's an idea being kicked around,
to combine them all on one new base or a reopened one that has all the
terrain and complications they need for their specialized training.
That is still in discussion and we'll be talking to the commanders over
those areas before any final decisions are made."

"Sir, will we be decreasing the size of the military?"

"Not really. I don't anticipate any layoffs from this. As
I said, I want and need to keep the jobs there and fresh." She sat
down. "I don't think we'll see any truly lost. Most people
would be shuffled to an equitable job in another area." He pointed
at one.

"Sir, about Mr. Harris, was that all pain from his injuries? Or
was he really mad?"

"I think he's really tired of the petty crap that they've been giving
him and he's not the sort to socially or politely ruin people. He's
much more open than most senators or representatives are. They might
try to ruin you with an alliance or getting your state's other senators
to give you hell. He'll bluntly be in your face calling you an idiot.
He's not like them. He's like the rest of us real people. Frankly,
if the Senate can't fix itself of this petty problems that they're causing,
and it's not him starting it because they tried it with me too, then I
hope that their opponents win and we get new blood that wants to help and
work for this country instead of for their own interests."

"How many are doing this?" she asked.

"I got blindsided by the first one sent at me and it was five senators
then. The same five have added a few against him because he's on
reserve status for the Council. Frankly, if they're citizens I don't
care if they're orange and fuzzy or green or black or purple or white.
If you're a citizen, you're a citizen." She smiled. "They,
however, are acting like sheep behind someone whose mouth knows no ends
of foul rumors and stupid ideas. Honestly, I believe he's right
to push back against them. I wish he wouldn't let his temper out
but there were days I wanted to release a lion into congress and dart the
people instead of the beast too."

"Sir, did he actually out someone's husband?"

"I do not know. I was not there. All I heard was she was
making snide remarks and he shot back. I'm sure someone will tell
me sometime tonight but I know Xander would not intentionally out anyone.
Not that he believes anyone should have to hide who they really are.
He never has hidden who he was and he doesn't think anyone else should,
though he knows why some do. He's not the sort to cause people emotional
harm just to play with them."

"Will he be campaigning against any of the in their home states?"

"I don't think Xander really cares about that sort of thing. I
think he's going to say that he would rather let the people decide without
pressure based on what they've done. He's seen some of the worst
that humanity can do and some of the best. Right now I think he's
lumping some of the senators in the same boat as the people he helped defend
a refugee camp in Africa from. I think he's not far off on their
intentions to cause harm. I do wish that the senate was filled
with people who wanted to actually do the job, not just have the title."
He smiled. "Have a good day." He walked off. He got a
note from the chief of staff. "What's his saying?"

"I don't know yet. It's being broadcast later, after yours."
He gave him a look. "He's very reactionary."

"I think he's right to react. I reacted but I had learned subtlety.
Xander never learned that. It's refreshing in a way." He went
to his office to turn on the tv so he could hear what Xander was saying.
The speech was good. Ezra had clearly helped him with it. He
had both dogs beside him because he was in a park. He was making
good points about what his duties were and it was his duty to keep the
house he lived in up to public standards. That if they didn't like
it, they could come live in it. John snickered at that.

The boy went on to make other points in a non-huffy or angry manner.
It was nice of him. Though he was seriously causing some people problems
in their upcoming elections. So maybe Ezra had taken his education
into hand in that area as well. It was the most polite version of
'fuck you all and the bitch you rode in on, and if I catch you trying me
again I'm going to fuck you up' that John had ever heard.

***

The night of the midterm elections, John watched how well it had worked.
Half the senate was out come January. Half the House too. Some
in important seats but they'd fix that. He sipped his beer as the
results kept droning on about how the President had lost confidence so
the people didn't trust them to protect and work for the country.
He looked at Rodney and Willow, who were talking quietly. "Want me
to give you guys some time alone?"

"We're still not dating," Willow huffed. "Who taught Xander how
to play politics?"

"I think it was either Cordelia or Ezra." He smirked and thought
at the city, who knew just what he wanted. John stood up and stretched.
"Let me head back so people can find me." He smirked as he got beamed
back to his apartment.

"He's much too smug these days," Rodney said. Willow nodded.
They went back to their polite argument about quantum string theory.
She was using crackpot examples and it was driving him insane again.
There was a flash of light and suddenly they were in a sealed room.
"What is this?" he demanded, looking around.

She blushed, shrugging. "The old honeymoon suite of the Ancients?"

"It's cheesy enough to be," he agreed with a grimace. He huffed
and sat down. "I know that goofy haired bastard did this."

She nudged him and pointed at something. "I think he had some
help since I saw Sam Carter buying that the other day with Vala."
He looked and blushed at the lingerie openly flung over the back of a chair.
They shared a look. "So, spanking?"

"I'm going to gut them all and let you turn them into toys for the boy's
St. Bernard's." He huffed and scowled. At least until
the window started to blow a peculiar scent. Then he decided maybe
a cuddle would be nice tonight. She agreed and it was nice between
them.